Spirit, Frontier, Delta Launched Scheduled Flights to Havana

Spirit, Frontier and Delta airlines have teed off their scheduled flights from the United States to Havana, Cuba, thus joining American Airlines, JetBlue and United Airlines in this route to the Cuban capital.

“Delta was the first U.S. airline to open an office in Cuba after several decades”, an executive from the company said and recalled the license granted by his country’s Department of Transportation, an indispensable requirement.

“Delta opened its first commercial office to sell tickets in La Rampa, one of the most central areas in Havana”, he underscored.

While talking to the media, the general manager for Central America and the Caribbean, Jose Zapata, pointed out that the airline is going to offer three nonstop flights a day to the Cuban capital, from airports in Miami, Atlanta and New York’s J.F. Kennedy.

“The 21 weekly flights will be carried out by two models of Airbus aircrafts and, during the summer season, the airline is going to introduce bigger planes to meet the demand”, he announced.

“It’s still too early to make a decision in terms of the opening of other connections on the island nation. We need more information about the market, but we think the potential is huge”, the executive underlined.

On August 31, JetBlue was the first airline to have a scheduled flight from the United States to Cuba since 1961. The aircraft took off in Fort Lauderdale, north of Miami, and landed in Santa Clara, in the central region of Cuba. JetBlue’s daily flights from Orlando, Florida, began on Tuesday and, since November 30, it is offering two daily flights –except for Saturdays – from Fort Lauderdale to Havana.

“Our historic first flight gave birth to a new era of transportation in Cuba and, once again, JetBlue is going to make history,” Robin Hayes, president of the company, pointed out in a press release.

The beginning of flights to Havana takes places in a sensitive moment for Cuba, after the passing of Fidel Castro at the age of 90.

The list of cities offering airlift to Cuba engulfs Atlanta (Georgia), Charlotte (North Carolina), Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Miami and Tampa (Florida), Houston (Texas), Los Angeles (California), Newark (New Jersey) and New York.

Eight airlines have been granted licenses to operate these routes: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines, according to the U.S. government. The eight airlines can have up to 20 daily flights to Havana.

In July 2016, Washington announced the issuing of licenses to operate flights between five U.S. cities (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Minneapolis and Philadelphia) and nine destinations in Cuba without including the capital (Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba).

The beginning of scheduled flights between Cuba and the United States facilitates travels for U.S. tourists, although the trade embargo and travel ban against the island nation are still in force.

The United States and Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations back in 2015 and, in February 2016, both countries agreed to restart daily flights.

Since 1979, both nations had been connected by charter flights to meet the demand. Until past August there were some 30 daily charter flights, with prices fixed around 500 dollars.

These new scheduled flights are not only more frequent, but also cheaper (100 - 200 dollars).